Citizenship
Theme: Citizenship
A citizen is a member of a country who has rights (to vote, to education, to health, to express opinions) and duties (to respect the law, to pay taxes, to protect public property, to vote). Good citizenship also means participating in the life of the community: volunteering, respecting others and the environment.
Vocabulary
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| rights / duties | what you are allowed to do / what you must do |
| to vote / election / ballot | to choose representatives |
| civic engagement | taking part in community life |
| volunteer / charity / NGO | unpaid helper / organisation that helps people |
| to abide by the law | to obey the law |
| public property | things that belong to everyone (parks, buses) |
| corruption / bribery | dishonest use of power / offering money illegally |
| to raise awareness | to make people know about a problem |
Grammar: reported speech
When we report what someone said, we usually move the tenses back:
| Direct speech | Reported speech |
|---|---|
| present simple: "I vote." | past simple: He said (that) he voted. |
| present continuous: "I am helping." | past continuous: She said she was helping. |
| past simple / present perfect: "I helped." / "I have helped." | past perfect: He said he had helped. |
| will: "I will come." | would: She said she would come. |
| can / may / must | could / might / had to |
Other changes: today → that day ; tomorrow → the next day ; yesterday → the day before ; here → there ; now → then ; this → that.
- Questions: "Do you vote?" → He asked me if/whether I voted. "Where do you live?" → She asked me where I lived (no inversion).
- Orders / requests: "Respect the law." → He told us to respect the law. "Don't litter." → She asked them not to litter.
Function: making requests and responding
- Could you… ? / Would you mind + -ing? / Can you… ?
- Sure. / Of course. / No problem. — I'm sorry, but I can't.
Writing: an article about civic engagement
Catchy title → introduction → examples of civic actions → benefits → call to action.
Exercise 1 — Reported speech
Report the following sentences.
- Ahmed said, "I am a volunteer in an NGO."
- The teacher said, "You must respect public property."
- She said, "I voted yesterday."
- He asked me, "Are you going to vote?"
- The mayor told the citizens, "Don't throw rubbish in the street."
Voir le corrigé
- Ahmed said (that) he was a volunteer in an NGO.
- The teacher said (that) we had to respect public property.
- She said (that) she had voted the day before.
- He asked me if I was going to vote.
- The mayor told the citizens not to throw rubbish in the street.
Exercise 2 — Rights or duties?
Classify: to pay taxes ; to have access to education ; to respect the law ; to express one's opinion ; to vote ; to protect the environment.
Voir le corrigé
- Rights: to have access to education, to express one's opinion, to vote.
- Duties: to pay taxes, to respect the law, to protect the environment, to vote (it is also a civic duty).
Summary — Citizenship
- Vocabulary: rights, duties, to vote, civic engagement, volunteer, NGO, to abide by the law, public property, corruption, to raise awareness.
- Reported speech: tenses move back (present → past, past → past perfect, will → would, can → could, must → had to).
- Time/place: today → that day, tomorrow → the next day, yesterday → the day before, here → there.
- Questions: asked if/whether + no inversion ; orders: told/asked + (not) to + verb.
- Requests: Could you…? Would you mind + -ing?